Monday, February 16, 2015

And now my only internet capable device is my nook colour, which is like typing on a brick.

A TOTAL TRAGEDY! I scream from the velvety comfort of my chaise lounge as I fingermash a screen the size of a penguin book.

I've started gaming at a local store. FNM at the moment. It's been a decade since I last played amd I forgt how much fun it can be. I also forgot how frustrating it can be too. The folks I i also played were easy going but they're invested in the game at a much higher level than me. I don't have the money or.the time to really be competitive. Which is okay by me for the most part, playing is the journey. I just need to work on the mana conspiracy, I mean, my shuffling, no, I mean...

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Yes, well. Painting-wise I undercoated 20 or so dark elves. I've got to face facts that the way to play with these minis is to bite the bullet and play the latest version of the Great Wyrm's games.

The most recent stuff painted aside from my wife's nails have been a couple of old harlequins. I love the original background for thses guys, the theatre geek in me to be sure, and the original eclectic, electro-clash painting style that went with it. Think cirque de soliel meets commedia del'arte meets grand guinol meets high art new wave punk elves of a dying high decadence empire with flashing blades, acrobatics and the blur of comic speedlines, ONLY COOLER.

Recently, the colour scheme has gone from a wild anything-goesindividualised regalia to a stolid uniform diamond patterned costume. Think of a trajectory like the one from Queen to Lady Gaga. They're both successful in their own right, it's the degree of the influences on each that tell.

In the interests of self preservation I painted them black, bone, purple and green with sky blue as a highlight colour. There's no freehanding yet. I want to get them all based and varnished before I start painting on stripes, or checks or other freehand designs.

I am deeply chagrinned at the lack of photos. I shall thrash the errant knave of a netbook and replace it at earliest opportunity.

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GIGO:

The painting guide in the WARLORD 1st edition rulebook, by Reaper, is very well done. It goes into some very different techniques to those demonstrated by Games Warkshop. He book was worth it for this section alone.

LION RAMPANT and DUX BELLORUM by D. Mersey for Osprey publishing. I'm always on the lokout for intesresting rules that I can chuck my minis into. Lion Rampant is a pretty nifty set of small warband skirmishes set in the middle ages. Dux Bellorum is a dark age Arthurian rules set. I've not read DB yet but both books have a lot of great painted miniaturea from different companies. This is nice. I love seeing photos illustrating rules, and I love that the rules are not tied to a single miniatures line.

The big difference to my eye, is that LR is one figure = one man, while DBlooks to be one base of 2-3 miniatures representing a much larger number.

The LR book is very well written with plenty of good examples. The bibliography is good. I also appreciate that the author's voice creates a sspace where you can be as relaxed or as accurate as you like in terms of historicity.

I have SONG OF BLADES AND HEROES and MUTANTS AND DEATH RAYS from Ganesha games sitting on the pile to read.

WHITE DWARF I finally brought the new magazine for the harlequins rules and information. I just don't know. I just... This is such a corporate organ now; there are no authors credited, no staff painters named, and no sculptors to be found. I love the harlequin sculpts, and I really want to know who did them. I fear that the answer is now and forever more "Games Workshop."

I also ponder the 'eavy Metal brand, which has passed from the jokey context of "we listen to heavy metal while painting heavy metal" into something mysterious. What music do you listen to while painting resin and plastic? Synthesiser pop? The sounds of John Blanche and Jes Goodwin crying themselves to sleep? Who knows?

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Would you believe that the above was actually written by the five cats who insist on running over the nook every couple of minutes?